Explain audio to me...

[MK999]

Right basically, not got a clue, hoping to improve the TD a bit and also by buying excess of what I need in group lots make a bit of cash back on it too, tried looking on the net for info/guides and forums too, guides seem scarce and mainly revolve around fitting aftermarket speakers to holes that already exist. Forums lose me when they start talking about daisy chaining 2 ohm active crossover SPL JB 2.2 flux capacitors to discombobulate a mid-bass woofer.

I can tell the difference between my budget PC/PS2 2.1 speakers and my mates £50 2nd hand Hi-Fi speakers easily (its like night and day) but not notice much difference between that and my other (sound engineer) friends ~£250 a piece speakers? Can also tell the difference between a well produced and a 'radio quality' all treble and bass album. Loudness equalized I believe it's called! To give people an idea of where I'm at as to some people it's not worth spending sod all on a sound system as they wont hear the difference lol

I'm not thick, just never got into car audio stuff lol

Brands - Whats good/bad? I have a vague idea (FLI, mutant, bad lol) but I always thought JBL was chav crap but it's recommended by audio forums. Or is it like most audio stuff and a company can churn out crap one minute and an industry leader the next model up, or more confusingly, down, the next minute?

Amplifiers - 1 channel per speaker or it loses sound quality from what I can gather? Wattage really matter if I'm not looking to compete at car park eardrum blowing? Are there any 'settings' I should worry about on the amp or is it all headunit based?

Speakers - It seems a main woofer and a separate tweeter is the way to go rather than 2/3 way speakers that seem to be budget items? Is there a relatively cheap way of doing this or is it for the 4 figure setup audiophiles? Which leads me to...

Crossovers - they're basically high/low pass filters that separate the frequencies to relevant speakers? So could I buy a say 6.5" speaker and a tweeter and just connect them via a crossover? Info on the net says they have to be matched to the setup unless they're active (which is out of my budget I think, something like £100/speaker set?) So how do you get the 'right' one?

Subs - Is there a need for one for subtle bassy tones or are they just chav accessories? I do like my music, including drum and bass/dubstep which can obviously demand some pretty low frequency response at a good level or the music just tails off in those deep searcing basslines. I don't however like to hear just bass it seems many do. WTF is up with amplifiers for them? lol It seems you have to match the ohms of the speaker to the amplifier you're using which can be anything from a 4 to a single channel, but you simply connect the channels together for more amperage? I'm guessing this is one for the watch my fiesta rattle yo crew at mcdonalds though so they can try and blow their set of 4 12" subs? Assuming 4 speakers/4channel amp or 2 speakers/2channel amp would I need another amp for the sub, or could I run it off of the headunit sub output without it being worth getting a separate amp for sound quality?

And the big one:

Setup - Is there an kind of speaker sizes you should go for? ATM I'm sort of restricted to at least 1 set of 6.5" for decent sound, whatever I can put on the parcel shelf to add to it (although the net says this isn't needed, I find that although not acoustically perfect reflecting off the rear screen is the best way to fill the car with sound pretty well?) Obviously with availability front and rear for 10cm's in the dash/shelf supports. As above is a sub wanted/needed? Same with tweeters/crossovers. What is staging and does anyone that isn't entering SQ competitions (oh yeah, I found some lingo on the forums lol) really going to do it/notice the difference? Obviously going 2 front, 2 dash, 2 in shelf and 2 in supports is mega overkill, but whats the best solution between that! And it seems I'm limited to 4 speakers due to amp availability at good prices?

I realise this is mega long and not expecting to be spoon fed info, links/suggestions of where to look are just as appreciated as well, spoon feeding me info lol

[bazil]

IMO keep it simle, I've always had alpine stuff, great quality and never had any breakdowns, my gsi came with jbl door speakers which were fine but replaced with my own setup,

I basically got the DD Drive setup in the front with simple crossovers that came with the speakers, these were powered by the head unit,

I had a V12 4/3/2 channel amp, set for 2 channels to run 2 alpine 6x9 speakers on the shelf,

You can see some of the stuff in my build thread, particulary in the video,

I don't subscribe to the bigger and louder is better ideas.

[MK999]

I have an Alpine headunit atm and don't like the lack of equalizer, and just generally the functionality/look/quality tbh! But the speakers I have are fine, do much prefer the 6.5's to 6x9's but then they lack the lower freq response.

was thinking about 6.5's front and rear on a 4 channel amp, then add a sub later if I felt it was needed. Then thought maybe 6.5's and a pair of 10cms might work better, but then do you put them all in the front and say bollocks to people in the back that wanna hear it too, or go front 6.5's and rear 10cm's maybe?

Figure a sub can be added later if I felt it was needed (which atm I would say yes, maybe on a headunit more suited to me and an amp not though?)

Indeed bigger and louder is not what I want, just the best quality sound for the little I'm spending.

[bazil]

It depends on how high up the range the head unit is,
my last one had 3 4V pre outs and one was the dedicated sub out with level control from the head unit,

I honestly can't remember my door size speakers but I know they didn't need pods etc just some slight cutting of the door frame lol

also the head unit ran 4x60w and required power direct from the battery
( back in 2002 it cost me £450 and has a tape deck ffs lol )
the cd changer was 12 disc but all that may be out of date now but will still do a cracking job!

[MK999]

My 6.5's will fit into the door cards I have planned. That's no worry, just the rest of the setup is confusing as hell! I do like the idea of tweeters in the A pillars but cba with the faff/expense making 'cups' and fibreglassing it all etc tbh lol

Also is it possible to find a sub that will fit under a seat at a half decent price, and are they any good? Don't fancy a box taking up all the boot space tbh!

[Hobbit]

Maybe fit the mid bass in the doors and the tweeters in the dash? and then some 2/3 ways on the shelf all run off a decent 4 channel.

then if you feel it needs more bass add a little 10 inch running off a seperate amp (monoblock) at a later date. I wouldn't bother with subs under seats. To be honest if you only want bass sound rather than bass feel you dont really need a sub, decent set of components will give you a full range of sound.

ps, bigger is better though if you like DnB....

I prefer to feel it in my chest... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yvv1Z7CQda0)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p72/wiggardywoo/2010drinkies066.jpg

thats to run 1 15 inch kicker square sub lol really need to pull my finger out and get it fitted.

[MK999]

Didnt even think of putting tweeters in the dash but that sounds an idea, are they always around 1" kinda size? And are they just wired up in parallel with the mids?

Sub is more for my music taste than anything, DnB/Dubstep does like to go very low at times, lower than my alpine 6x9's could manage at least but I've not heard similar/better speakers on a proper amp yet.

[Hobbit]

amps make all the difference when trying to get bass out of door speakers/6x9's. more power gets them moving ;)

re tweets, yeah they will be too small but would be pretty easy to bodge them in, doesn't have to be pretty as they will be hidden.

see edit re music tastes ;)

[MK999]

Nuts, that would make a nova instant scrap lol so... 6.5 components are not going to please my ears I assume when the searching basslines hit?

[Hobbit]

subs are more for a bass feel, you can get the bass sound out of a decent set of amped components.

I just like to feel my bass :d

[MK999]

:p I'll see how it goes with components and like you say possibly add later then, probably take a while as Im trying to do it buying/selling bits on 0 budget basically lol Anyone want some alpine S 6x9's? :p